Glory Days: CovCath '83 team won last state swim title

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Bernie Brungs' son, former Covington Catholic diver Evan Brungs, performs a reverse dive at a meet at Scott High School. The elder Brungs is one of several on the 1983 squad that had sons and younger relatives who competed for the Colonels.(Photo: Thanks to Bernie Brungs)

It was February 1983 at Eastern Kentucky University. Covington Catholic had finally beaten Louisville St. Xavier at the KHSAA state swimming and diving championships. The Colonels were celebrating poolside one minute, congratulating each other on their fifth state title. The next thing they knew, they were in the pool.

"We were in the shallow end high-fiving with the coach (Andy Hagedorn) who was in the pool with us with his clothes on," said Bernie Brungs, a diver on Northern Kentucky's last boys' state championship swim team. "It was his final year of coaching then he moved."

CovCath's previous four state crowns came in the small-school division. The state meet became an all-class event in 1979, the year after the Colonels won back-to-back Class AA titles. St. Xavier won state the first four years under the new format. In 1983, the schools were going head to head for the fifth time.

"It didn't even come down to the last race," said Brungs, who finished 10th in diving. "We just had to finish the last race to win. To beat St. X was a fantastic feeling."

That's what many on the 1983 team remember most after all these years -- the first and last events, both relays. When it was over, St. Xavier was stunned.

The last time Covington Catholic's swim team won a state title was 1983. This is a jacket commemorating the accomplishment.(Photo: Provided)

"Every year we got a couple of points closer. That year, we got them," said teammate Matt Dressman, who won the 100- and 200-yard freestyle races at state in 1983. He went on to swim at North Carolina State.

CovCath featured a handful of standouts who competed in college, including Brian Summe (Florida State then LSU), Robert Summe (Xavier) and Scott Ryan (Michigan). Kurt Summe and Bill Wehrman were among other standouts. The Summes are brothers and cousins. With all that talent, Dressman knew something special was about to happen after the first race.

"It was the medley relay and we did better than we thought, getting second or third," said Dressman, a senior that year. "Once that medley relay did what they did, I told Hagedorn that this was done. We kind of knew what we were going to do in the other events but this was a surprise and gave us points we weren't counting on. And, sure enough, we won it. The medley relay set the tone."

They clinched it in the second-to-last event. Though the Colonels didn't need to win the meet-closing 400-yard freestyle relay, they dearly wanted to just to put an exclamation mark on the historic night.

"That 400 relay was the most exciting race I've ever been in, high school or college," said Dressman, the anchor. "St. X had a substantial lead. Bowling Green was second and we were sitting third. If that's the way it ends, we still win the meet. But we had a shot at running them down. I wound up tying with Bowling Green at the end in a dead heat. That's the way the meet ended."

Former Covington Catholic diver Bernie Brungs, 10th at the state meet in 1983, performs a reverse dive for the Colonels.(Photo: Thanks to Bernie Brungs)

After St. Xavier received its comeuppance, it was Bowling Green's turn to be surprised.

"We got first-place points out of that race," said Jason Thelen, who swam a middle leg on the 400 relay. "Brian got us a lead. I got us a deficit and Matt tied them at the wall. Brian and Matt were our big winners that year."

Dressman and Brian Summe shared high-point honors. Summe won the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. "Just their points alone would have won it for us," Hagedorn was quoted as saying at the time.

Several on the championship squad have sons and younger relatives who played sports at CovCath, many of whom competed on the swimming and diving team. Brungs' son, Evan Brungs, won a regional diving crown last year and was state runner-up. There are famous family pictures of father and son doing the same dive, a simple reverse, in high school.

"You have to do that dive," the elder Brungs said. "And the kid did it well. He got 10s on it. He has more talent in his big toe than I have in my entire body. That's why it was really awesome (in 1983), because of the tradition. I sent Evan there because of the education and he got to compete. Diving is not a sport you're probably going to make a lot of money."

Bernie Brungs, the Summe clan and all those talented swimmers from 34 years ago have something that money can't buy.

"You can't ever take a state championship away," Brungs said. "I've still got my regional and state jackets. They're reminders of great memories."